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Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Career » Page 19

Career

Actually, It IS Rocket Science

By Dan Balowon August 16, 2016
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I love rockets and space travel stuff. I grew up watching Mercury, Gemini and Apollo manned missions to space and built plastic models of various rockets and capsules. The technology still awes me.

At age twelve I watched liftoffs of manned missions and wrote down the comments of the flight announcer who updated how high and fast the rocket was flying. I’d calculate speed in miles per hour from the “feet per second” metric used by NASA.  (I used a slide-rule to calculate. If you don’t know what a slide-rule is, I have no reasonable way to explain it to you without sounding like a Neanderthal)

I was stunned how something so big as a Saturn V rocket could move so fast.

Recently, I repeated my “calculating obsession” while watching the launch of a U.S. satellite atop the largest rocket currently in use in this country, the Delta IV Heavy. (I used a handheld calculator this time)

The Delta IV Heavy weighs in at 1.6 million pounds at launch…about one-fourth the weight of the 1960-70’s era Saturn V rocket, which sent astronauts to the moon.

Did you catch it? The Saturn V was four times the weight of the largest current rocket.

Amazing.

The June 2016 launch from Cape Canaveral went like this: (based on launch control announcer information)

  • Less than one minute into the flight it surpassed the speed of sound (over 750 mph)
  • At 90 seconds it was over nine miles up and going over 1,700mph
  • At 127 seconds it was over fifteen miles up and speeding along at 2,625mph
  • At 160 seconds it was traveling over 3,300mph and get this, weighed half its original launch weight, just 2 minutes, 40 seconds earlier. It was burning over one and half tons of fuel every second.
  • Twenty seconds later it had accelerated to over 5,300mph and was almost 30 miles up in the air.
  • A minute later, the rocket was technically in space, weighing a small fraction of what it was just four minutes earlier. The acceleration to 17,600 miles per hour required to reach orbit was due greatly to the decreasing weight propelled by the enormous power of the rocket engines.

Using this as a metaphor for writing successfully was simply too easy to pass up.

What rockets teach us about life and writing:

  • Total commitment is required – once the engines start and the rocket is one inch off the launch pad, there is no reversal, no turning back. If you want to succeed at writing, you should not consider a “fall-back” position.
  • Complete reliance on internal power – There is no bow, slingshot or gun propelling the rocket. For Christian authors, this is “Christ in me.” The power is enormous. This is not a self-powered never-give-up attitude relying entirely on a person’s own strength. That kind of power runs out and depends on your mood.
  • Decreasing excess baggage (weight) will increase your speed – is about sacrifice. Successful authors always, always sacrifice something. There are twenty-four hours in a day and only seven days a week. Total commitment is spelled…TIME. You can’t do everything. You must jettison something in order to fully commit to writing. It will never, ever fit nicely into your life unless you make time for it.
  • Failure is necessary to succeed – just like dramatic failures in missile technology have led to great improvement in future programs, so failure with writing is a stepping-stone to success. This is not a motivational slogan. It is a necessary and important aspect of growth. You must fail in order to succeed.

Once in space, the view is spectacular. Every astronaut enjoys the moment because they know the magnitude of the effort it took to get them into orbit.

So authors should never forget what it took to get a book published. It was not simple, without sacrifice or a failure or two along the way.

Holding a printed book in your hand is greeted with a satisfied sigh and quietly appreciated. Then a hearty “woo-hoo” is heard a mile away!

 

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Category: Book Business, CareerTag: Career

Great Customer Service

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon August 11, 2016
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Last week I blogged about a poor experience I had with a hotel, comparing it to a great experience with a different property. This week, I offer a few more tips on how writers can meet and exceed expectations in customer service. Answer in Person I was interested in a particular clothing line and called ahead to the store since it was located in the next state. Excellent customer service point …

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Category: Career, Communication, EditingTag: Career, Communication

Not So Great Customer Service

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon August 4, 2016
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In publishing, all of us are really in Customer Service. The agent serves the writer. The writer serves the editor. The editor serves the publisher. The publisher serves the reader. Of course, there’s lots of overlap, but you get the idea. Recently I had a not-so-great customer service experience when I tried to check into a hotel early thanks to a morning flight, a situation I could not control. …

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Category: Career, Communication, EncouragementTag: Career, Communication

Confusing Hindsight with Wisdom

By Dan Balowon August 2, 2016
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Book publishing is filled with people having substantial experience and who know a lot about how things work in the publishing world.  Authors, publisher staff, retailers and agents have a bevy of information and make informed decisions every day. But book publishing is a humility-building pursuit because a good amount of this great wisdom is nothing more than 20/20 hindsight. “I knew it wouldn’t …

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Category: Agents, Book Business, Career, Marketing, The Publishing LifeTag: Book Business, Hindsight, The Publishing Life

One of These Days I am Going to Write a Book about Procrastination

By Dan Balowon July 26, 2016
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But not today, I’ve got too many things going on. Maybe tomorrow or the next day, but not today. One of the more insidious aspects of living in a world where constant change is the norm, is most change does not occur so quickly we need to change anything or do anything right now. Tomorrow we’ll decide. One of these days I’ll do something, but not today. I’ve got too much going on today. Tomorrow …

Read moreOne of These Days I am Going to Write a Book about Procrastination
Category: Book Business, CareerTag: Career, procrastination

Keys for Effective Social Media Use

By Karen Ballon July 20, 2016
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Okay, I don’t pretend to be a pro on social media use. Honestly, I use it because I enjoy it. (Yeah, off-the-scale extrovert here.) But I’ve done some research lately for this blog, and found that the following tips I wanted to share were also mentioned in several of the “How To” sites I read. So here are a few collectively suggested “keys” to making sure your social media involvement is as …

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Category: Career, Marketing, Social MediaTag: Career, Social Media

The Accidental Pharisee

By Dan Balowon July 19, 2016
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Anyone who spends even a little time reading the New Testament discovers the only times Jesus got really angry was when he confronted religious people who were so far off the intended track they needed outright and immediate correction or even condemnation. Jesus could judge, after all he was God in the flesh. Those who didn’t know any better were treated with relative kindness, called upon to …

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Category: Career, Communication, The Writing Life, TheologyTag: Career, Communication, The Writing Life

Theological Accountability Partners

By Dan Balowon July 12, 2016
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Just because an author is a mature Christian, doesn’t mean they are immune from writing something containing shaky theology. In an effort to craft compelling phrases and stories, orthodox theology can sometimes be a casualty of creativity or even carelessness. Most often it is entirely accidental. I referenced this issue in a post over a year ago. A significant function of a traditional Christian …

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Category: Career, Christian, Communication, Editing, Theology, Writing CraftTag: Career, Theology

Inspiration or Perspiration?

By Steve Laubeon June 27, 2016
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Thomas Edison was to have said that “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” Apparently he made 1,000 failed attempts to invent the light bulb. After accomplishing it he was asked about all the previous failures. Edison replied, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.” The exercise of writing can be somewhat similar. If you …

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Category: Career, Craft, Creativity, Editing, The Writing LifeTag: perseverance, The Writing Life

What’s Your Third Book?

By Dan Balowon June 21, 2016
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At some point, whenever I speak with an un-published author I will ask the question, “What is your third book?” The purpose of the question is to elicit a response to get an idea if the author is interested in being a professional author or simply publishing a book. Those are different goals entirely. Agents mostly represent professional authors, not books. Agents are “in this” for the long term …

Read moreWhat’s Your Third Book?
Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Branding, Career, Get Published, PlatformTag: Career, Get Published
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